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[Regarding the Blank Seal Case, Zheng Shili spoke eloquently.
Unfortunately, every one of his arguments at the time stepped directly onto Old Zhu's minefield.
First, he argued that the seals used on the blank account books were rider-seals placed across the binding seam, not a separate seal on each page. Ordinary people could hardly obtain them, and even if they spread outside they would not easily be used to accomplish anything major.
Second, the distance between the ministries and the provinces ranged from six to seven thousand li at the farthest and three to four thousand li at the nearest. A single round trip could take nearly a year. Sealing first and writing later was merely a temporary expedient and had existed for a long time.
Third, there was no specific law concerning blank seals in the Great Ming Code. Punishing people on that basis would be difficult to justify.
Fourth, it was extremely difficult for the state to cultivate a capable official. Those who could reach the rank of prefect had invested at least ten years of effort. Such able ministers were not weeds that could simply be cut down and grow again.
Yet contrary to Zheng Shili's hopes, this memorial produced none of the effect he desired.
The officials implicated in the Blank Seal Case were not pardoned. Not only that, the enraged Zhu Yuanzhang pursued charges against him as well.
Zheng Shili was therefore sentenced to exile. Even his elder brother, who had only just completed his imprisonment, was implicated again and given an additional sentence of exile.
In modern times, this memorial is often used as evidence to question whether the Blank Seal Case was a miscarriage of justice.
But even in its own era, this memorial could be described as dancing within a minefield.
Among its contents, the points most often cited today are the second and third arguments, namely that the practice "had existed for a long time" and that "no law concerning blank seals had ever existed."
To begin with, claiming that "no law concerning blank seals existed" is somewhat sophistical.
Although the Great Ming Code did not contain a specific crime called blank seals, it clearly regulated how records should be prepared and how seals should be used. The practice of blank seals itself was already a violation of those regulations. Claiming there was no law was merely an excuse.
As for saying the practice "had existed for a long time," that was even more like dancing in a minefield.
Earlier we mentioned the early Ming judgment that "the Yuan lost the realm because of leniency," where "leniency" referred to the collapse of legal discipline.
Using the lax legal order of the Yuan dynasty to excuse present conduct was essentially wishing for a shorter life.
It was almost as if one feared Old Zhu might not think further and conclude that one still longed for "our Great Yuan."
Even so, Zheng Shili ultimately received only a sentence of exile.
Furthermore, the fact that his brother, who had been implicated in the Blank Seal Case, was able to serve his sentence until completion and be released already shows that the case at the time was not quite as terrifying as later generations imagined.
This conclusion, however, leaves another figure looking somewhat awkward.
That figure is the Yongle-era famous minister Fang Xiaoru.
As mentioned earlier, Fang Xiaoru's father, Fang Kexin, was executed because of the Blank Seal Case.
In fact, most of what we know today about the case comes from Fang Xiaoru himself.
After Fang Kexin was executed, Fang Xiaoru requested his teacher Song Lian to write a funerary inscription for his father. For that purpose he provided a document titled Account of My Late Father's Life.
Based on this material, Song Lian wrote the Epitaph for Mr. Fang of the Yian Studio.
In the epitaph, Fang Kexin is portrayed as honest and upright. While serving as prefect of Jining, he wore a single cloth robe for more than ten years. His daily meals consisted of only one dish of plain vegetables.
When he left office, the local people spontaneously composed songs to persuade him to remain, singing:
"Governor, do not depart.
You are the father and mother of our people."
According to this account, his ultimate death resulted from being falsely accused of corruption by an official named Cheng Gong.
Yet it is well known that in the early Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang had once declared:
"In all major cases, the emperor shall personally interrogate the accused, in order to prevent false accusations and fabricated charges."
Major cases at the time were generally examined personally by the emperor.
Therefore, regarding Fang Kexin's involvement in the Blank Seal Case, there are only two possibilities.
Either a good official died unjustly before Zhu Yuanzhang himself.
Or a good son altered the record too greatly in order to defend his father.
Which of the two is true is difficult to determine, and we shall not attempt to judge here.
Another interesting point is that Fang Xiaoru also had two fellow townsmen who submitted memorials in the same year as the Blank Seal Case. Later both of them met unfortunate ends.
Fang Xiaoru therefore recorded their lives in a work titled Biographies of Ye and Zheng.
For that reason, when the Qing dynasty later compiled the History of Ming, both Zheng Shili and Fang Kexin were granted individual biographies.
However, in comparison, the uploader admires the "Ye" in Biographies of Ye and Zheng even more.
This refers to Ye Boju, who submitted a memorial in the ninth year of Hongwu concerning celestial omens and ultimately died because of it.
In his memorial, Ye Boju's meaning was extremely clear. He criticized three matters:
The enfeoffment of princes was excessively extravagant.
Punishments were excessively numerous.
The pursuit of governance was excessively hurried.
Unlike Zheng Shili's scattered arguments, Ye Boju's memorial was at least thoroughly researched.
Unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang's response consisted of only a single sentence:
"This boy seeks to sow discord among my flesh and blood. Seize him quickly and bring him here. I will shoot him myself."
In modern criticism, this matter is often described as treating the realm as private property and revealing an unmistakable smallholder mentality.
When Ye Boju was finally brought before him, Zhu Yuanzhang happened to be in a good mood and thus did not turn him into a target for arrows.
Even so, Ye Boju was still imprisoned by the Ministry of Justice and ultimately died in prison.
It must be said that it was truly unfortunate.
Had he lived another ten years and witnessed the misdeeds of the princes recorded in the Imperially Compiled Record of Misconduct, he might have written even more brilliant essays scolding those parasites of the Zhu imperial house.]
Everyone could sense that the mood of the Ming Emperor had grown increasingly worse.
Their father said nothing, but that did not prevent the Ming princes from whispering among themselves.
"If Zheng Shili was exiled but not executed, perhaps he could be recalled…"
Zhu Gang was the most direct. After glancing up at the light screen, he lowered his head and suggested this idea, even making a slicing gesture with his hand.
This immediately caused Zhu Su to frown deeply.
But before he could carefully choose his words, the fourth brother had already shaken his head and rebuked the suggestion.
"Absurd. Zheng Shili offended by empty talk and reckless discussion of state affairs. That matter is already clear."
"Whether recalling him now or imposing further punishment would both be improper, not to mention… Furthermore, Father has already made his judgment regarding the Blank Seal matter. Why discuss anything further?"
His reasoning was clear and orderly.
Zhu Biao nodded repeatedly, feeling that what his fourth brother said matched his own thoughts exactly.
Then they heard Zhu Di continue:
"What troubles Father is rather this Fang Xiaoru. In concealing his father's crimes, he compared state affairs in a manner lacking fairness, preserving the integrity of a son while losing the integrity of a subject."
"Rather than recalling Zheng Shili, it would be better to summon Fang Xiaoru to investigate the truth and order him not to reverse black and white."
Zhu Gang looked at the light screen and then at his fourth brother.
He snorted lightly.
"The future Yongle Emperor truly carries great authority."
Those words instantly made Zhu Di's face change from red to pale and then back to red again.
He was nearly about to erupt in anger.
But Zhu Gang was not finished.
"Summon Fang Xiaoru? Who knows whether it is truly to investigate the matter, or simply to meet this future Yongle minister capable of reversing black and white, shedding tears together while gazing at one another?"
Zhu Di nearly choked on his breath.
He immediately wanted to stand up and communicate with his third brother using the method he knew best.
Zhu Gang also began to regret his sharp tongue.
Fortunately, remembering that this was not the training grounds, he quickly turned toward another direction.
"Elder Brother heard it as well. I was only speaking casually. It's not as if it has truly happened."
Zhu Biao nodded.
But he soon tapped the armrest of his chair.
"Yet it still carries the implication of sowing discord among us brothers."
Those words instantly made the others wear troubled expressions.
Even Zhu Gang had merely been arguing with his younger brother and had not actually considered matters so far into the future.
Their elder brother's remark forced the princes to face the criticism directly.
That criticism concerned the excessive extravagance of princely enfeoffments and…
"Father, if that Record of Misconduct truly exists, why not let us see it, so that we may diligently correct ourselves?"
Zhu Biao suggested the idea carefully.